O2 customers losing access to five million free BT Wi-Fi hotspots in UK

Punters will have to rely on O2 Wi-Fi spots

The number of free Wi-Fi hotspots O2 customers can connect will fall dramatically from July 1 when the network's four-year partnership with BT Openzone comes to an end.

Until now, those who get their smartphone service from the Sean Bean-voiced carrier have been able to log-on to BT's five million Wi-Fi hotspots around the UK, completely free of charge.

However, once the month of June comes to a close, O2-ites will have to make do with the 8,000 O2 Wi-Fi hotspots dotted around the nation, if they wish to save monthly data allowance while on the move.

The company has added a page to its website, detailing the switch, and promises that its Wi-Fi network, which is free for all to use beyond its customer base, will continue to grow.

Forget the networks

Currently O2 Wi-Fi is available in retailers like McDonald's, Debenhams, Costa Coffee, All-Bar-One, House of Fraser, Café Rouge, Toni & Guy and at O2 Stores around the country.

However, it's a pithy return given the scope of BT's offering. The company has fiendishly built Wi-Fi hotspots into the routers of residential and business routers, which has allowed it to create a mammoth network.

On its web post O2 has included instructions for users to prevent smartphones automatically attempting to join BT hotspots whenever they're in range.

Basically, the instructions consist of telling the device in question to forget all of the networks they're familiar with, almost as if they never happened.

Somehow the "Goodbye BT Openzone. Hello O2 Wi-Fi" boast doesn't quite seem like something the network should be shouting about at this stage.